The Oni

The Oni

Japanese Name

Ao Oni

Rōmaji

Ao Oni

Appearances

Ao Oni franchise

Description

Blue Monster

The Ao Oni (青鬼,Ao Oni?, lit. "Blue Demon"), also called the oni (鬼,Oni?, lit. "Demon"), is the primary antagonist of Ao Oni. It is the main inhabitant of The Mansion, and the only enemy for most of each Version of the game.

WARNING: This page may contain spoilers or solutions to puzzles. Read further at your own risk!.

Contents

Ao Oni is a tall, blue (Don't mistaken its color for purple) creature with a large head. Its face resembles that of a normal human being, except for his eyes, having one of them bigger than the other. It also has a body that seems to have no hands, and has a visible chest and/or stomach. It always has the same bemused expression on its face. The back of the Oni's head is black, suggesting either dim lighting, or hair.

The Oni with its mouth open.

Surprisingly, the Oni is able to change whether it has teeth or not and it seems to be able to open its mouth unusually large, almost half the size of its head. The Oni also has infrared vision which lets it see living things through body heat.

The Oni is an enigmatic creature that lives in the abandoned mansion on the outskirts of a town in Japan. Not much is known about the Oni, but it lives with many creatures that resemble it. It is known to feed upon people. In Version 6 it has been shown that after the Oni kills, the victim becomes an Oni themselves. It seems to act like a virus, when the "virus" interacts with a sentient creature, within moments it can turn them into a horrific monstrosity, as exampled with a pregnant cat in the original game.

One of the main elements of the game is the chase sequences. At certain times, the Oni will appear and head for Hiroshi, following him from room to room. The Oni moves only slightly slower than Hiroshi, making him somewhat easy to outrun. After the player evades the Oni long enough, the oni will cease chasing and disappear - only to reappear in an entirely different and unpredictable location in the mansion. In Version 1.0 it takes the longest to outrun him.

The oni chasing Hiroshi in the mansion.

The main fright to these chases is the random and unexpected pattern of appearances the Oni will make over the course of the game, and the bizarreness of its appearance. Certain chase sequences are scripted chases, meaning they are part of the story, and most likely will happen during every playthrough of the game. An example of this is when the Oni appears in the library after Hiroshi picks up the key on the table. All other chase sequences are random chases, meaning they are unpredictable and happen in a different order during every playthrough of the game. There are a large number of open doors and closets in the mansion that the oni has the ability to enter from, and the player must constantly be aware of these.

In Version 6, most chases last somewhere between eight and ten seconds. To outrun the Oni, you must evade him until the timer runs out, and then leave the room. In earlier versions, the Oni will instantly disappear when the timer runs out.

When the group of kids enter the jailhouse they hear instances of such a creature living within the building the Oni manages to kill both Takeshi and Mika which further proves that they are not alone in the jailhouse, Shun and Anna hear the cries of Mika behind a door and Shun goes to it but something on the other side breaks the door down and a rather tall humanoid demon appears and mocks Mika's help calls. The Oni gives chase and Shun and Anna escape the creature and meet up with Hiroshi. The Oni kills off Takuro and then chases Anna and Hiroshi succeeding in running over Hiroshi and gives the final chase as Anna hides in a bedroom, the Oni repeatedly calls her name in the voice of Shun's while hitting the door. When she walks into the door the Oni disappears and it is unknown of the whole event, including the Oni ever happened or existed.

Oni (鬼?) are a kind of yōkai from Japanese folklore, variously translated as demons, devils, ogres or trolls. They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature and theatre. Depictions of Oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic ogre-like creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes. Their skin may be any number of colors, but red and blue are particularly common. They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs, called kanabō (金棒?). This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club" (oni-ni-kanabō (鬼に金棒?)), that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. It can also be used in the sense of "strong beyond strong," or having one's natural quality enhanced or supplemented by the use of some tool.[1]

In the Ao Oni Ver.2.0 trailer in the end clip we see a giant "Godzilla" sized Oni leaning over the jailhouse and growling at the camera, it is unknown if this is the same enlarged Oni or a totally different creature set to appear in the sequel.

In the game the Oni has infrared vision however in the 2014 movie adaptation he has a normal vision.

The Oni's voice is briefly heard in one of the versions but as an unidentified whispering sound, in the movie the Oni talks full Japanese and can also mimic the voices of others to fool its victims.

The Oni's relationship with the other Oni creatures that appear is unknown, which may be either failed cloning experiments or relatives.